Today I'm sharing about a Canadian quilt pattern and fabric designer, Libs Elliott. Her first fabric collection, True Love, has just been released and it's already a hit. Make sure to check out the rest of the stops of the blog hop and learn about some other Canadian sewing resources.

Canada Day 2016 Blog Hop Schedule

Be sure to visit each of these brilliant blogs this week for more on ouroutstanding Canadian designers and suppliers:

And, of course, to enter our giveaway for some sweet-like-maple-syrup prizes.

Libs works and lives in Toronto and her quilt patterns are really unique in that they're designed with use of a programming language called Processing. You can read more about the process on her website. I'm so grateful she took the time to answer my questions. I hope you enjoy! Don't forget to enter the giveaway for a chance to win a copy of Libs' quilt pattern The Rebel Quilt.

True Love is your first fabric collection, but you've been in the sewing world for a while now; what led you from quilt pattern design to fabric design?

​It felt like a natural progression for me. I wanted to use fabrics in my quilts that didn’t really exist, so I designed them. Plus, I use code to design a lot of my quilts and patterns, and that code lends itself well to designing repeats. So I used it for a few of the prints in True Love (e.g Wound Up, Pony Boy, Mathcore) while drawing and painting to make others (e.g. Flash, Venom, Dark Matter). Fabric design is a new and fun challenge.

Do you have a favourite local quilt shop, and do they treat you like a celebrity when you go there?

My favourite local quilt shop is The Workroom. I remember when it first opened and I was so excited about the space. That’s where I first learned to quilt – I took one class taught by Johanna Masko and I was hooked! Karyn, the owner, is so talented and has great taste when selecting fabrics for the shop. They don’t treat me like a celebrity – more like a regular – and I’m good with that.

How did you get into sewing?

I remember watching my mom sew us clothes and costumes. She taught me how to hand sew when I was quite young and I’d make all kinds of Barbie outfits. I really learned my way around a machine in Grade 10 sewing class. That was the best class I took in highschool. (Typing was a close second.)

What do you find most rewarding about the work you do?

I love exposing people to my work who normally wouldn’t think much, if at all, about quilts or quilting. To make people aware that it’s a craft that’s alive and well, that’s valuable and still relevant in the 21st century, that it’s an art form that requires skill and consideration.It’s also rewarding to teach other quilters new skills and share my patterns with them. To see how each person makes one of my patterns into their own, and how they interpret them…and the fact that people want to make my patterns at all…it’s incredibly humbling.

Do you ever get creative blocks? What do you do to get out of those funks?

I do get creative blocks. I lose motivation to sew and sometimes it can happen at unexpected times. If I’m not on a deadline, then I just wait it out until I feel ready again. If I AM on a deadline, I try to set goals for myself. I’ll take time to get fresh air and clear my head. I’ll try to make/sew/create during the hours I know I do my best work.

Who is/was your role model and why?

My grandfather was a role model for me. He built steam engines, was great with math and engineering. I loved watching him work in his workshop, making things with his bare hands. Most importantly, he treated everyone he met equally and with kindness. He was a real fixture in our community. Unfortunately, he passed away when I was only 13 but the impact his life (and death) had on me was immense. So, these are the things I now try to bring to the quilting community – encouragement and positivity. Being open to new people and ideas. I don’t always feel like I ‘fit’, but I do try to make a positive contribution. That’s basically how I go about life in general.

Here's my happy mail from Sitka Fabrics; isn't it awesome?! The entire collection of True Love is available from Sitka, and make sure to check the Sales Tab for discount details.

Disclosure: Some links in this post are my affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission on purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Welcome back, I hope you're enjoying the blog hop so far. See the schedule near the bottom of this post to make sure you catch up with everyone. Today I'm sharing a project from On The Go Bags, a book co-authored by Canadian Janelle MacKay. Janelle is the creative genius behind Emmaline Bags, where she designs and sells bag patterns and hardware. She also has a Craftsy class that is offered at a 50% discount for the duration of the blog hop. Plus you can enter to win a $25 store credit to Emmaline Bags; the giveaway is at the bottom of the post.

I made the Two-Bottle Tote from the book. I thought it would be a great bag for the summer, when I tend to head to the beach or go to backyard barbecues. I think it makes a great hostess gift too. The bag is generously sized to hold 2 bottles (of your favourite beverage, wine perhaps?) with a centre divider. It's quite clever actually because you can use the divider or fold it out of the way for one large compartment. In fact, each section is big enough that you could use one for a wine bottle and the other for snacks, or even fare for a romantic picnic!

I used a foam stabilizer and I really like the shape of the bag. This was my first time making a decorative belt and I got to put in eyelets too! I got my belt buckle from Emmaline Bags as well. I really enjoyed making the bag and found it quite simple to make by following the instructions in the book.

The book is full of great patterns, 15 in total, plus tips and techniques for a professional look to your sewing. Janelle has 3 patterns in On The Go Bags: Park Blanket, Two-Bottle Tote and Airport Sling. The other patterns in the book are from a mix of my favourites and some new-to-me designers, all coming together for a really great variety of functional bags for life "on the go." The projects range from easy to advanced, making it a great book for beginners and experienced sewists alike. Want to grab a copy for yourself? Right now promo code CANADA will save you 20% off everything at C&T Publishing, so you can get the ebook or the book, or even both (like me) and make some great bags!

Camelot Fabrics

Did you know Canada has our very own fabric company?! I think that is just so cool! So I decided to make my project truly Canadian by using fabric from Camelot Fabrics, a Canadian company. For my Two-Bottle Tote, I chose Mama & Me, a truly adorable collection designed by Andrea Turk from Cinnamon Joe Studio. I love that it has some sophisticated prints, and some fun prints, making it a perfect line for coordinating Mama and kid items. Watch my blog later in the hop, for how I used the kid coordinates. Camelot has also contributed a FQ bundle from this collection as a prize in our giveaway. Make sure to enter every day for another chance to win.

Looking for Canadian shops that carry Camelot Fabrics? Flare Fabrics has Nordic, Bambino, and other select prints in stock; Sitka Fabrics has Heavy Metal, Mixology and several others, including licensed prints; Funky Monkey Fabrics offers a large selection of licensed Camelot prints, plus select others including Mama & Me; Stay Home Fabrics carries the Elixir collection (one of my favourites) and also has some Beyond the Backyard; Fabric Spark has a couple prints in their sale section, and Fabric Please has Elixir, Rise and Shine, and Mixology. The best part is that many of them are also offering a discount to the blog hop readers! Check the Sales Tab for all the sale details.

Canada Day 2016 Blog Hop Schedule

Be sure to visit each of these brilliant blogs this week for more on ouroutstanding Canadian designers and suppliers:

And, of course, to enter our giveaway for some sweet-like-maple-syrup prizes.

Hello! This is Celine from Blue Calla Patterns!
I very recently had the opportunity to work with the talented Libs Elliott – Canadian quilt designer/fabric designer - to create sample bags for her Quilt Market booth in her very first collection “True Love”. During one of our meetings I mentioned that I loved her Rebel Quilt pattern as a wall hanging and was thinking of attempting it. She quickly handed me a copy and my first quilting experience began!

Now please be aware, I have never attempted a quilt pattern before so I am truly a beginner. I started by reading through the entire pattern and then selected my fabrics. I noticed a page near the end of the pattern (I had a paper copy) that was a black and white diagram of the quilt with each block given a grid coordinate.

This diagram gave me an idea! I quickly scanned it as a jpg and opened it up in Photoshop. I then used the dropper tool to add colours in the different sections of the diagram until I was happy with my design. I realize not everyone has a scanner or Photoshop but if you do, I highly recommend this step as it allowed me to see what the finished quilt would look like immediately:

In addition to this diagram, the pattern came with charts where you could write your colours and compare to a coloured version of Libs’ Rebel Quilt. This chart is perfect for those who don’t have a scanner and Photoshop like I do:

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Since I am not a regular quilter, I don’t have some of the fancy rulers and other tools a quilter will usually have. I didn’t want to invest in so many tools since I had no idea if I’d ever make another quilt so I decided to make myself some block templates for cutting the squares. I went into the recycle bin and pulled out some empty cereal boxes. I then measured and cut out 3 square templates: (1) 8 7/8” template, (1) 4 7/8” template and (1) 4 1⁄2” template. These were perfect for cutting out the squares and cost me nothing!

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Since I was not planning on using this quilt as an actual quilt but rather as a wall hanging, I decided to not pre-wash my fabrics. I wanted them to be crisp and the colours to be as vivid as possible. I did however spray starch heavily thanks to a quilting friend’s advice. Since the entire quilt is made up of HSTs (half square triangles - which I will explain shortly), she told me that it would help everything line up better and she was right!

As I just mentioned, the quilt is entirely built from HSTs in various sizes and assembled in various patterns to create a design. It is extremely easy to do which makes this quilt design perfect for beginners. You start by placing 2 squares of different colours RST:

Pin them and then draw a diagonal line on the WS of one of the squares:

You then sew on either side of that diagonal line with a 1⁄4” seam allowance. I’ve used a contrasting thread colour in my photo so you can see it more clearly:

You then cut along the diagonal line that you drew:

You then open up the seams and press your seam allowance open on the WS and you end up with 2 HSTs!

Repeat this a million times and you will have your squares. Ok I do exaggerate here but it did feel like I made a million squares! You will end up with 2 different sizes of HSTs, which you will then assemble in various patterns according to the instructions.It took me about 2 weeks of evenings to assemble my quilt top. For my quilt backing, I ended up using some of the scraps from the quilt top as well as some leftover HSTs It really didn’t matter to me what it looked liked since I was going to be using the quilt as a wall hanging so I used whatever I could find in my fabric stash.When I created my quilt sandwich, I used straight pins to keep my layers together. I can see now why it is recommended to use safety pins. I stabbed myself MANY times! Do yourself a favour and get a box of safety pins!Since I had never quilted before, I was really uncertain how I should tackle it. I decided to do diagonal lines in both directions and follow the diagonal lines of the HSTs. I now realize this was a mistake because it allowed more puckers to form than if I had used horizontal and vertical lines:

Although the size of the quilt itself could seem intimidating for a beginner, it really is perfect as a starter quilt because the assembly is incredibly easy, although quite long. It is such a great feeling to put up your work and admire it!

You can find all of Libs Elliott’s quilt patterns on her website, including the Rebel Quilt Pattern at: http://www.libselliott.com
You can also find Libs' new fabric line True Love at Sitka Fabrics, and don't forget to use code BACON10 to save 10%
Make sure to enter the giveaway below for a chance to win a copy of this quilt pattern.

Celine used fabrics and supplies from Funky Monkey to make this quilt. Use code BLOGHOP to save 10% until July 4th.

Canada Day 2016 Blog Hop Schedule

Be sure to visit each of these brilliant blogs this week for more on ouroutstanding Canadian designers and suppliers:

And, of course, to enter our giveaway for some sweet-like-maple-syrup prizes.

Disclosure: Some links in this post are my affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission on purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you. All opinions expressed here are my own.

I've been keeping a secret from you guys...since about January! Did you join in during the Great Canadian Craftsy Bag Tour? Well, in the planning stages for that, we realized we have so much home grown talent and should devote a whole tour just to that. I thought it would be fitting to time it with Canada Day. So I got together with a few other bloggers and now we have this wonderful tour for all of you.

What to expect

Today kicks off the tour, so check the schedule near the bottom of this post for all the dates and links you need to follow along. We'll be sewing garments, bags, and even a quilt. Learn about some Canadian pattern designers, shops, and other Canadian sewing talent.

I've rounded up some fabulous discounts just for the tour and I hope it will give you a chance to try out some new to you Canadian shops (or revisit some favourites). Please visit my Sales Tab for all the details. Thank you so much to all the great shops who offered discounts for our readers.

I wrote about one of Janelle MacKay's patterns from the book she co-authored On The Go Bags. Here's a sneak peek for now, but you'll have to wait until June 27th to see more. There's a discount for anything at the publisher site C&T Publishing so you can get the book, either hard copy or ebook at 20% off, plus anything else they carry with code CANADA until July 5, 2016

Thanks to Camelot Fabrics for the fabric for my projects, and contributing a prize. They also let Marsha run wild at their headquarters and fondle all the fabric, or that's what I would have done anyway. How great is it that we have a Canadian fabric company?!

Canada Day 2016 Blog Hop Schedule

Be sure to visit each of these brilliant blogs this week for more on ouroutstanding Canadian designers and suppliers:

And, of course, to enter our giveaway for some sweet-like-maple-syrup prizes.

Of course we can't forget prizes! In fact, there are so many, they've been split up into prize bundles giving you more chances to win. A special thank you to our sponsors who contributed prizes. Prizes up for grabs include: FQ bundle from Flare Fabrics, $25 Emmaline store credit, FQ bundle from Camelot Fabrics, $25 Tangled Blossoms Design store credit, and patterns from these designers you'll learn more about over the coming days: Carla's Creations, Thread Riding Hood, On The Cutting Floor, Jalie, StitchArt, Blue Calla, Pollywoggles and Libs Elliott.

My youngest son got invited to a birthday party for a little girl and the first thing I thought of was "YESssss! I get to make a little girl's purse!" I really try to get my boys into liking bags, and they do like the lunch bags and other bags I make them, but they just aren't into the "pretty" stuff, so I rejoice when I get an excuse to make a fun, pretty purse. Right away I found out the birthday girl's favourite colours are yellow and blue. At the same time, I've been itching to make one of the Bag of The Month Club bags from this year. They're all now released and I hadn't made one yet because I always seem to have more urgent projects (well, as urgent as sewing bags can get, ha!)

The Polaris bag is the March bag from the club, it's bySara of Sew Sweetness, and the pattern includes an oval and a rectangle bag. I chose to use the oval Polaris as my canvas for the birthday purse. I think it's a great pattern when you want to be creative and add your own elements. I was inspired by the Cat-Eye Zippered Pouches (Thread Riding Hood) I'd previously made, but couldn't really construct the bag the same way, so I came up with a different way that should work for most patterns, and the best part is you only need a scrap piece for your center focus fabric.

How to Create the Cat-Eye

Start by selecting your focus fabric. It can be relatively small as long as there is about 1/2" all the way around the area you want to display (the mermaid in my finished bag). Place the full oval pattern piece (both halves taped together) on your work surface, then place a page protector or clear quilting template over top, and line up the focus fabric so it is centered with the center of the pattern piece. Now make an additional 1/2 pattern piece (half an oval in this case) and line up with original pattern piece (on bottom of pile) and center of pattern.

Now you can draw the shape of the curve that best suits your focus fabric. Just draw on the 1/2 pattern piece. Cut out the curved section and check to see if your focus fabric is how you'd like it, flip over to other half of the pattern to make sure it looks good from that side too, which it should if your focus image is fairly symmetrical and centered properly.

Once you have the center curve how you like it, create another full oval. Place the 1/2 pattern piece (with the center curve cut out) over top of the full oval, now you'll need to continue that curve along to the edge of the oval, on both top and bottom. You can use a French Curve tool, or just freehand if you like to live on the wild side, like me! My piece ended up looking a bit like a "C" with horizontal teardrop cut out.

Cut a mirror image set of both the exterior fabric and the accent fabric, which will act as a faux piping.

Sew one set of exterior and accent pieces right sides together; repeat with remaining set. Turn right side out. Then you'll need to press each piece, but before you press, roll the accent piece toward the center of the cutout, to reveal a scant amount, this creates the faux-piping look.

Place the 2 assembled overlap pieces over the center fabric and overlap one piece on the top and one piece on the bottom, so they're intertwined. I did this step on top of the page protector again to make sure I maintained the original shape of the oval. In order to have a nice topstitch around the center, and seal off any raw edges from your focus scrap, mark where your pieces overlap (pink arrows). Now take your overlap pieces apart again and start a topstich about 1" inside the overlap point (yellow arrows) and continue to past the overlap mark (you can go all the way if you like, but it won't be seen on the finished product). Bring them back to your page protector work surface and line up again with center focus fabric. I used some double sided fabric tape to secure my pieces once I was happy with placement. Now we'll finish the topstitch around the curve, starting at each yellow arrow and continuing along to the end of the curves.

Baste all layers in place along outer seam allowance and continue with bag construction as per pattern instructions.

I really hope that helps! If there are any steps that were confusing, please ask and I'll try to clarify.

Disclosure: Some links in this post are my affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission on purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Welcome to Day 5 of the Caravan Tote Sew Along. Today we finish the bag and make the matching bonus pouch. Check out ﻿﻿﻿Day 1﻿﻿﻿ to get started and learn about fabric and interfacing selection, and Day 2 to begin cutting and making handles. Day 3 is where we really get started with sewing. Day 4 goes over the different pockets and the lining of the bag. You can purchase the PDF from the Noodlehead shop, and use code HOSAL at checkout to save 20%. Or if you want some help picking your fabric, there's a kit including the paper pattern and fabric from Craftsy, on sale right now, save 35%.

Magnetic Snap

Make a mark 1 1/2" down and centered from the top raw edge of one lining panel. To find center easily, just fold the panel in half and finger press. Use the washer from your magnetic snap as a guide to trace your lines for the prongs. Make small slits for the prongs; I use my seam ripper and go slowly to make those cuts. Insert one half of the snap from the right side of the lining through to the back and through the washer, and push out the prongs, making them flat. I also like to add a scrap of fleece or extra interfacing between the wrong side of the lining and the washer.

Repeat these steps for the other lining panel and other half of magnetic snap.

Handles and Finish

Depending on the type of handles you chose for you bag, you will likely add them now. If you chose leather handles, they will be added with rivets later, skip this step. Find center at top of each exterior panel by fold in half and finger pressing at the top, then make a mark at center front and back within the seam allowance. Make a mark 2 1/4" on each side of center mark. Align inner edge of handle with the 2 1/4" mark making sure not to twist your handle. Complete for both front and back.
With your exterior right side out, and your lining wrong side out, place the assembled exterior into the assembled lining. Place the front exterior pocket right sides together with the lining side without the slip pocket, this makes the interior slip pocket at the back of the bag. Pin or clip tops of exterior and lining together. Make sure handles are tucked well inside the bag. I like to start by pinning the side seams together, then centers, and finally the spaces in between. If you didn't leave a turning gap in your lining, leave one now, at the back of the bag, between the handles.

Sew along the top of the bag (making sure to leave the turning gap if you need to.) Trim any fleece (if you used it) in the seam allowance in the side seams to reduce bulk. Turn the bag right side out through the turning hole. Tuck in raw edges of the turning hole. If you left the turning hole in the lining, sew it shut with a small seam allowance. If you left the hole at the top, press to make the folded edges even with the rest of the top of the bag. Press all along top of bag, I like to use wonder clips for this step too. Topstitch along top of bag about 1/8-1/4" from top edge, with a longer stitch length to create smooth even stitches; this closes the turning gap at the top if you had one.

If your handles are already sewn in, you're done! There are a couple ways to add handles now. You can either add them with rivets, Chicago screws, or decorative stitching. I used rivets for my denim bag with leather handles. I placed my handles in the same spot as in the pattern. I chose to use 2 rivets for each end spaced at 1/2" from the end and apart. For more info on installing rivets, check out this Noodlehead tutorial.

Zippered Pouch

If you haven't already, cut and fuse the pouch fabric and interfacing. I added a layer of fleece to my lining, pocket and flap. Just as in the pattern, make pocket and flap by sewing right sides together, leaving top raw edge of flap unsewn, and a turning gap at the top of the pocket. Attach the pocket and flap in the same manner as on the tote, following the spacing as stated in the pattern. Add desired closure to flap and pocket. I like the pouch pocket without a snap.

Mark darts by using the pattern pieces and fabric pen. Pinch together and sew along marked line to create dart. Complete darts for both exterior and lining pieces.

Prepare the zipper by adding the zipper tab. Fold it like a piece of binding and cover the end (oppsite of zipper pull when closed) of the zipper, topstitch in place. At the zipper pull end, bend each side back at 45 degree angle and stitch in place; I use my stiletto tool for this step because it can be tricky to get such little pieces lined up under the presser foot.

Make a "zipper sandwich" with the zipper centered right side down onto right side of exterior, then right side of lining on top that. Sew along top of pouch, through all layers. Note: If you're less confident with zippers, baste zipper in place first without lining, then sew again to add the lining piece.

Fold exterior and lining back so they're wrong sides together, and repeat above steps to attach remaining exterior and lining pieces to other half of zipper. Press away from zipper and topstitch.

OPEN your zipper halfway. Match up exterior pieces right sides together, and lining pieces right sides together, making sure to align darts. Push zipper teeth and tab toward lining. Leave a turning hole between the darts in the lining. Sew around the perimeter, starting at one end of the turning gap all the way back to the other end. When you reach the zipper end, go slow and feel for the zipper to make sure you don't sew through it - you want to have a tiny gap between the seam and the zipper tab.

Trim the seam allowance except at the turning gap. Notch the curves, then turn pouch right side out. Tuck in raw edges at turning gap and sew shut with a small seam allowance. Give it a final press and you're finished!

I'd love to see your progress and especially your completed projects! Tag me and use #CaravanToteSAL on Instagram.

Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions, or suggestions. Do you have any tips? Let us know!

To enter to win the Noodlehead patterns, submit a photo of your completed bag by July 3, either by uploading it on my contact page, or using #CaravanToteSAL on Instagram by July 3, 2016.

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